Man killed in Friday night wreck in Lacey has been identified, WSP says
A 50-year-old driver who was killed Friday night in a wreck on Interstate 5 near Lacey has been identified, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Just before midnight, Steven L. Hargis of Forest Grove, Oregon, was headed south on I-5 when his vehicle was allegedly struck from behind by a 21-year-old driver from Lacey.
Troopers say the Oregon man’s vehicle rolled onto the passenger side and came to a stop in some trees off the right shoulder of the freeway.
Hargis died at the scene. A 20-year-old female passenger, also from Forest Grove, was injured and taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, according to the State Patrol.
The 21-year-old Lacey man was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide and vehicular assault.
Troopers say the cause of the crash was “speed.”
Two passengers in the Lacey man’s vehicle – an 18-year-old from Olympia and a 15-year-old from Lacey – were not hurt, according to the State Patrol.
Following the crash, the road in the area was blocked for nearly eight hours.
